Fifteen portraits of cardinals, all of them creations of Alexander VII, have been trimmed within the plate mark to about 19 x 14.5 cm and mounted on full-sized leaves. In these (perhaps earlier) prints the cardinal's date of creation appeared in the upper margin, the imprint in the lower margin. Both these areas have been trimmed away, and the missing creation dates supplied by hand in brown ink

Volume also includes 4 prints from the de Rossi series of papal portraits: Clement IX, Alexander VIII (engraved by Arnold van Westerhout and, exceptionally, sold by him rather than by the de' Rossi), Innocent XII, Clement XI. Portrait of Innocent XII is followed by title leaf for a portrait series of cardinals created by Innocent on 22 July 1697; it bears Domenico de' Rossi's imprint

Printmakers include: Jean-Charles Allet, Robert van Audenaerd, Bernardino Balduini, Barend de Bailliu, Jacques Blondeau, A. Calabrese, Albert Clouet, Guillaume Courtois, Lodovico David, Giuseppe de Angelis, Girolamo de' Rossi, François Desportes, Nicolas Dorigny, Benoît Farjat, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Gottfried Kniller, Antonio Lesma, Marco Mangani, Giovanni Domenico Mattei, Carlo Maratti, Pier Francesco Mola, Giovanni Maria Morandi, Pietro Martire Neri, Giuseppe Passeri, Etienne Picart, Domenico Piola, Domenico Rainaldi, Giusto Sertemanni, Giuseppe Maria Testana, Benoît Thiboust, Girolamo Troppa, Guillaume Vallet, Ferdinand Voet, and Arnold van Westerhout

The first two leaves in volume are earlier prints of cardinals that were not published by the de' Rossi. Mounted on leaf [1] is an unsigned, shoulder-length engraved portrait of Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, dressed as a cardinal (sheet trimmed to 23.4 x 13.7 cm); he was made cardinal in 1577. Beneath image is an 8-line laudatory epigram in Latin by Laurentius Beyerlinck, containing a chronogram for 1596. It is followed by imprint: Romae : Nicolo van Aelst formis, 1596

Mounted on leaf [2] is Claude Mellan's bust-length engraved author portrait of Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio', for his Della guerra di Fiandra, first published in Cologne, 1632 (trimmed to platemark). Present print appears to be consistent with those from Cologne editions, but copies were made for editions in other languages. See Préaud

Grelle Iusco, A. Indice delle stampe de' Rossi

BN. Estampes IFF. 17e s.

The shoulder-length portraits of 200 cardinals in oval frames were issued in the de' Rossi publication Libro de' ritratti degli eminentissimi signori cardinali, dall' anno MDCLVIII nel pontificato di Alessandro VII sino al presente. Begun in March of 1657, it was updated over time as new cardinals were created and old plates needed to be reworked or replaced. See Grelle Iusco

The portraits are arranged by the date of cardinals' creation from 11 October 1623 to 21 June 1700, which implies that the present volume could not have been assembled before 1700. Earlier prints bear Giovanni Giacomo de' Rossi's imprint, later prints that of his successor Domenico de' Rossi. Most plates include cardinal's forename and surname, office held, date of creation, coat of arms of reigning pope at creation, cardinal's family arms, and often his native city or country. Plates of cardinals created by Innocent XI and earlier generally have been altered to include death date

207 unnumbered prints in volume : leaves 31 x 20.5 cm, volume 32 x 21 cm

The portraits are arranged by the date of cardinals' creation from 11 October 1623 to 21 June 1700, which implies that the present volume could not have been assembled before 1700. Earlier prints bear Giovanni Giacomo de' Rossi's imprint, later prints that of his successor Domenico de' Rossi. Most plates include the cardinal's forename and surname, office held, date of creation, coat of arms of reigning pope at creation, cardinal's family arms, and often his native city or country. Plates of cardinals created by Innocent XI and earlier generally have been altered to include death date

Fifteen of the portraits, all of cardinals created by Alexander VII, have been trimmed within the plate mark to about 19 x 14.5 cm and mounted on full-sized leaves. In these (perhaps earlier) prints the cardinal's date of creation was placed in the upper margin, the imprint in the lower margin. Both these areas have been trimmed away in the present copies, and the missing creation dates supplied by hand in brown ink

Included are 4 prints from the de Rossi series of papal portraits: Clement IX, Alexander VIII (engraved by Arnold van Westerhout and, exceptionally, sold by him rather than by the de' Rossi), Innocent XII, Clement XI. Innocent XII's portrait is followed by the title leaf for a portrait series of cardinals created by Innocent on 22 July 1697; it bears Domenico de' Rossi's imprint

First two leaves in volume are earlier prints of cardinals, not published by the de' Rossi. Mounted on leaf [1] is an unsigned, shoulder-length engraved portrait of Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, dressed as a cardinal (trimmed to platemark 23.4 x 13.7 cm); he was made cardinal in 1577. Beneath image is an 8-line laudatory epigram in Latin by Laurentius Beyerlinck, containing a chronogram for 1596. It is followed by the imprint: Romae : Nicolo van Aelst formis, 1596

Mounted on leaf [2] is Claude Mellan's bust-length engraved author portrait of Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio', from his Della guerra di Fiandra, first published in Cologne, 1632 (trimmed to platemark or slightly within it at top, 22 x 15.2 cm). Present print appears to be consistent with those from Cologne editions, but copies were made for editions in other languages. See IFF

Title devised by cataloger

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews